2. (Naut.) To turn round (an anchor) by the stock, with a
motion like turning a gimlet.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:

Gimlet \Gim"let\, n. [Also written and pronounced {gimbled}]
[OF. guimbelet, guibelet, F. gibelet, prob. fr. OD. wimpel,
weme, a bore, wemelen to bore, to wimble. See {Wimble}, n.]
A small tool for boring holes. It has a leading screw, a
grooved body, and a cross handle.